Calvin yooehis



(No Model.)

0; VOOR HIS.

SUSPENDER BUCKLE.

No. 365,713. Patented'JuneZ8, 1887.

FFICEQ CALVIN VOORHIS, on NEW YORK, N. Y.

SUSPENDER==BUCKLE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 365,713, dated June 28,1887.

Application filed Novemler 29, 1886. Serial No. 220,129. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern:

' Be itknown that I, CALVIN VOORHIS, of the city and State of New York,have invented an Improvement in SpringHingcs for Suspenden Buckles, &c.,of which the following is a specitact with the suspcnder strap to clampandhold the said strap, in consequence of the links acting to swing theback plate toward the front plate when the pull on the strap tends tolift the back plate. A buckle of this general character may be seen inLetters Patent No. 346,851, granted August 3, 1886, to J. O. Hyde.

In suspender buckles the movements to which the parts are constantlysubjected when in use cause any joints to wear loose and to swing veryfreely; hence in buckles of the character before described the backplate may drop away from the Suspender-strap when the tension on suchstrap is lessened, so that the buckle ceases to hold such strap.

My invention relates to a simple and efficientspring-hinge, which,whencombined with the aforesaid buckle, tends to swing the back plate uptoward the front plate, and thereby keep such back plate constantlypressing against the suspender or other strap passing through thebuckle. This spring hinge is made with a pivot portion that is bentontof a straight line and rests against the metal plate upon which thepivot-ears are made, so

that when the parts of the hinge are swung the pivot-wire slides or rubslaterally upon the surface of the metal plate, and is thereby sprung orcompressed, and the spring of the wire, tending to move the samelaterally upon the surface of the plate, causes the hinge of the Vbuckle or other article to swing in the proper d i rection.

Iuthe drawings, Figure 1 is a rear view of a buckle with my improvedhinge applied to the same. Fig. 2 is an edge view ofthc buckleplateswith the suspender-strap in place. Fig. 3 is a rear view of thebucklcplates with one of the hinges disconnected and the plates laid outflat. Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 show the springwire of the hinge in differentforms, and Fig. 8 shows a modification ofsuch spring-wire and part ofthe buckle-plate to which it is eonnected.

The buckle-plates A B- are of any desired size and shape, and I haveshown the hook 2 and springtongue 3 as part ofthe front buckleplate, A.

Upon the respective plates A and Bare the eyes 4, 5, 6, and 7, in pairsat the respective corners of the plates, andthe pivot-wires are shown inthe form of loops'D and E, passing through the respective eyes anduniting the front and back platesof the buckle,'so that the back platemayswing upon the pivot-loops as such back plate approaches to orrecedes from the front plate, A; and it will be seen by reference toFig. 2 that when the suspender or other strap F is passed between thefront and back plates and the teeth 8 and 9 engage such suspender-strap,then the tension upon the strap will tend to make the back swing towardthe front plate under the tension to which the suspeuder-strap issubjected.

Instead of the pivot loops or wires D and E having straight parallel.portions for passing through the eyes,the pivot-wires are deflected, asat 10, and this deflection should be in the line of a plane passingthrough the pivot wires or loops, so that when the wires or loops areintroduced into place they may lie against the plate A or B, asindicated in Fig. 3; but when such pivot wire or loop is turned up atright angles, or nearly so, to the plate, (A or 13,) then the saidpivot-wire is sprung or pressed in laterally, and cannot assume itsnormal form until liberated. The consequence of this construction isthat the pivot wires or loops tend to raise the back plate and swing itup toward the front plate, and in so doing the strap introduced betweenthe two plates willbe pressed by the back plate toward the front plate,and such strap will thereby be constantly grasped, and there will be notendency of the back plate to fall and liberate the strap or Suspender.

In order to introduce the strap or suspender between the plates A and B,or to liberate such strap and allow it to be moved endwise, the plate Bhas to be swung down for itsedges to come opposite to the edges of thefront plate, A, and in so doing the loops or links D E are turned in therespective pairs of eyes 4 5 6 7,and the diverging or bent portions 10of the pivot wires or loops are sprung so as to be brought into line, ornearly so, with the pivot-eyes; and the expansion of these pivotwires,when the pressure upon the plate B is removed, will act to turn thepivot-wires in the eyes and swing the plate B bodily toward the plate Aas the pivot-wires turn in their respective eyes.

I do not limit myself to the use of these spring-hinges withsuspender-buckles, but intend to use the same wherever available.

The bends 10 (represented in Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7) act in the samemanner as the bends shown in Figs. 1 and 3. In all instances such bends,acting against the surface of the plate, tend to rotate the wire linkwithin the eyes upon the plate and swing such loop into line, or nearlyso, with the respective plates, and such bends are more or lessstraightened as the wireloops areswung into a position at right anglesto the plates. The bends 10 upon the endsof the wire loop shown in Fig.8 act in the manner before described. to rotate such wire loopor pivotin the respective eyes and to aidintheoperation of thespring. The metalof the plate A, at the base of the spring-tongue 3, is slotted, as at12, so that the sheet metal will spring under the action of the bentends 10 of the wire link.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination, with the plates A and B andthe pivot-eyes upon the same, of the pivot-wire having a bend ordeflection, substantially as described, resting against-one of theplates and forming a spring that tends to rotate the pivot-wire in itseyes, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination, with the plates A and B and their pivot-eyes 4 5 67, in pairs, of the links D E, having deflections or bends at 10 andforming springs that tend to revolve the pivot- Signed by me this 24thday of November, .1886. v

' CALVIN voonnrs.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINOKNEY, WILLIAM G. Morrr.

